Interview with Douglas Beatty

(TFC) – Doug Beatty was born in 1961 the product of opposite casting at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, VA to actors Walta Drummond Chandler and Ned Thomas Beatty. By the time of his arrival his parents had married. Growing up mostly in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, Doug saw the riots of 68, the poor peoples campaign and made his stage debut in 1970 at the Washington Theater club under the direction of Davy Marlin Jones with a walk on part.

Doug never appeared again as a professional except one shot in “Stroker Ace”. A jack of all trades, veteran of Naval Service and a former Special Police Officer serving at the pleasure of National Capitol Public and assisted housing.

Being run over by a Jeep late in 2000 brought Doug to Delaware where he has become an equal protection under the law activist. With friends and enemies in all political sectors, Doug does what he can with what he’s got and has some victories.

1. What was it like growing up with parents in the film industry and celebrity status?

My parents didn’t have much status when they were together and my Dad left in the summer of Love, taking the VW bus, we didn’t have much time with him after 69 and before that I was a backstage brat, I thought it was all very normal. The diversity in people, lifestyles. We were all rather socialist. Ronny Cox, Bob Prosky, Dick Mackenzie, Dad, all made it big later, but not when I was around.

Bob Prosky ( Hill Street Blues, Hoffa, etc. ) loved to grill in his backyard in D.C. and used a Derringer looking squirt gun to keep the flames down, made his own wine and ink pens as gifts.

Ronny Cox’s son Brian and I used to play with glow in the dark paint and all manner of scientific stuff. Dick Mackenzie was later the Judge on Fresh Prince of Belair, I saw him last in Lewes right before my mom passed away.

My mom was a great actor and speaking voice talent, great dancer. She taught dance into her fifties. Very pretty and a pin up girl during the Vietnam war.

Aza Baird was the original Princess Ishtar on Buck Rogers way back in the day. Moses Gunn was the big black male executive in the original Rollerball Murder. My earliest memory is of being on top of Moses’ shoulders on the Wilson line on the Potomac river with Aza Baird. I was about four or five, that drew some looks in the early sixties.

When Dr. King was assassinated that threw things awry but somehow it all get swept under the rug.

2. How did you become involved in politics and how have your views changed over the years?

I started in politics as a spectator. Wrote an article somewhere on Sherrod. Met Nidal Hasan at his father’s restaurant and discussed that some. The main thing was my neighbor Jay Stratton getting killed on 31OCT2006 and the police not trying to solve the crime. I knew enough to know that they overlooked evidence on purpose. I was scared until the County liquidated my deed illegally, then ruined my trailer by botching a mandatory connection to the mandatory sewer.

I ended the shitter war by walking out of the County Building with almost 2 grand Not done everyday. Then in 2012 Governor Markell told me the matter was closed when the KCSPCA gave my wife a hard time and tried to kill her dog instead of letting us adopt it because I live in a mostly black and very poor neighborhood. I’m not so much into politics, more like unpaid constituent services to lost causes. I have been working to publicize suspected lynchings in Delaware. Google Henry Fordham Dover lyndhing. that was unknown when I found out about it. My blog only has 30000 hits. My blogtalk took off after my second cast, we had Dr. Alveda King. i was protesting policy brutality before BLM, and that contractor that messed with my wife’s dog no longer has arrest powers. My friend Dr. Jahi Issa is still going through an ordeal after being fired and arrested for teaching black history at a black college. All criminal charges are dropped, but he has lost his job his family and home.

Now a young man I mentor has been arrested on some shakey shit. I don’t look for fights, but called on to finish them. Nothing nastier than a southern fried asshat protecting loved ones. i fight with ideas and words. A jeep ran me over in 2000 and I am mostly cripple. So I do what I can when people need help. I’m only concerned with equal protection under the law.

Image Source: Mint Candies, Flickr, Creative CommonsFist

3. Tell us about your time in law enforcement and your ideas on what can we do to transition into a less lethal and more just system for conflict resolution and deescalation?

Started pushing people and shouting in the Navy. Watch standing, Gate Guard at NATTC Memphis. Honor detail. Then I was a narc. I had quite getting high and the way business was done with hashish and other drugs under way was beyond wrong. So was locking people up but I didn’t see it.

After leaving the Navy the only job I could get was Armed Guard at one point and had to get over my fear of guns. By the time I was a Special Police Officer in D.C. Public housing I was convinced the ‘gun control’ was ‘negro’ control. First wake up.

Along the way I made my first physical arrest in 1987, on October 7, taking a bail skip from West Philly to Burlington County Jail in Jersey. To pay my rent, Was something of a known brawler at Union Station, when I left to do armed work including public housing I noticed I never had to fight.

Today police have a them against us mentality to the extreme. There are no more peace officers. Somebody has to be the adult to start the conversation and it’s not going to be the ones who need to be held accountable. A fine line it is and my opinion only we need more people talking to each other instead of about each other.

Like the brother you interviewed live at DNC on your first live stream said, it truly does start with individuals and family groups. We need more young leaders like that comrade. No matter what their political views are. That kind of insight and maturity at that age is sadly not common enough. Leaders are contagious, good or bad. We need to emphasize the good, not sacrificing great for perfect. My .02

4. What are your views on getting more community/ worker control of our labor and natural resources?

I think that has to be an effort that is local, in every case. Like the Geurilla Grafters who grow food. Like Occupy Delaware and Delaware Permaculture and gun toting beer swilling knuckle dragging southern friend cousin loving rebel flag waving idiots like myself who grow food and simply share what we kill with bow, rod, or gun to help feed others along with what we grow, earn or barter for.

Each one teach one is my best hope on that score.

5. What are some deescalation and mediation tips you’ve learned over the years?

I am a big fan of repetition to absorb concepts, I constantly read and reread things like Marc The Animal MacYoung’s article on De-escalation. Written for pugilists and first responders, it has applications beyond physical confrontation. I read “Think and Grow Rich” by Napolean Hill and listen to it as I sleep. Also “As a man Thinketh” By James Allen and have that on audio too. The Bible, the Quran, Hagakure, Sun Tzu, and Bhagavid Gita, as well as texts on the “Tree of Life” Mysticism, Magick, Paganism, and the list goes on. Theosophy…

Venting is important, although we run the risk of being labeled, my thought is that if you are conscious in any form, from any political or religious, or social viewpoint you are already labeled.

When I had a job that was particularly hard on my values I would listen to “As a man Thinketh on the way to work everyday, and have a pmp ( personal media player) with lectures and music on me at all times. In 2006 it was a Palm Tungsten T5 PDA. Which still works just fine today.

6. How do we combat secterianism and work together to prevent near term human extinction?

The only solution that appeals to me personally is by engaging those closest to us. Find like minded individuals and converse with them regularly. If you have to, make up a committee of your heroes and hold meetings in your imagination. This is very important to communicate with yourself and like minded individuals. Nothing can stand unless it is built on a foundation of truth. Everything starts as an idea and radiates outward, this is not so much spiritual as bare electrical engineering at some point.

We have to ‘love our enemies’ and ‘pray’ for them. The teachings of Jesus are valid even if the man himself never existed, which is a subject for historians and academics to ponder. Nothing remains subjective forever.

If we divide ourselves into cliques by groupthink it may not cause the next great crisis, or the final one for humanity but such certainly will not prevent any harm to humanity.

7. What are the limits to autonomy?

Ishi was an un-contacted human, a Native American who taught us much when he ‘came in’. Alone, without his tribe or any family he lived for years apparently. Ishi means ‘man’ in his tongue, we will never know his name because in his tribe it was taboo for him to speak it. He was completely autonomous until he ‘came in’. His autonomy was limited by his own spirit, at some point he found it more appealing to be an object of curious society than to live and die free.

The Bassa Tribe on the African Continent, mostly I lead to believe in Northern Nigeria remained mostly autonomous and rebuffed the Fuliani and slave traders to my understanding with superior Archery and War Craft, until machine guns came to their land. Their autonomy was limited by their technology, and today they are still highly regarded by Archers around the world. To this day I am told that Security Guards in that part of the world from that tribe still use the bent stick for protection.

The Commanche and Tejanos in what is now Texas were fiercely autonomous, and efforts to quell their determination were less than productive until the invention of the modern handgun in 1836, the Colt Patterson five shot .36 caliber belt pistol revolver. Arguably in all three cases we could say technology or lack of knowledge and science was a factor. The limits on our personal autonomy, the autonomy of our social families can be limited by many factors most notably our own minds and normal psychological defense mechanisms.

These are excellent questions, and remind me of why my business cards used to state my profession as Philanthropist, thief, and archer.

8. Your thoughts on the absurdity of the current election cycle?

I haven’t paid much attention to the ‘bread and circuses’ aka primary election dysfunction, which apparently affects well over half of men and women over thirty, even some younger. The bright spot to me have been the ‘Sanders Youth’. I am much more cynical and knew all along that Senator Sanders would fold and play the party line, supporting Hillary if it came to that.

However his supporters galvanized and though perhaps misdirected in their passion made their stand and their impact was and will, my opinion only, be felt for decades to come. An old saying for a reason, nobody learns faster than somebody who is being shot at.

The supporters of Senator Sanders certainly have gotten a baptism by fire. Agree or disagree with their views this is a phenomena that will continue to leave a mark.

The Trump fans have proven even more gullible. Nothing Senator Sanders did or said was very far outside his true character. Trump on the other hand told us who and what he was thirty years ago when he plugged that book that at the time he said he didn’t write but believed. That was on Oprah, and Oprah’s audience cheered for him to run for POTUS. Now the same crowd is calling him ‘racist ass Trump. Amazing.

Conservatives have lined up behind the Hillary supporting anti-gun bathroom equity Don of deals. Hillary is who she has always been and her supporters are more galvanized by animosity towards those holding opposing viewpoints than any thing else that this observer can divine.

Myself? I have been called an ancap among many other things so I guess I’m supposed to vote LP. Which suits me. I find Johnson less harmful than the others. I would go green but find some of their agendas, specifically ‘getting the guns off the streets’ ( disarming the negroes in the inner city, let’s be frank ) odious. Others may embrace her not throwing out the good wasting for the perfect.

Given the proverbial magic wand this genie would make everybody vote for anybody but Trump or Clinton. Would that it were. Senator Sanders; young supporters won my vote, even when I disagreed with their statements or goals.

9. What is art’s role in the revolution?

Art, in all it’s various forms is the only non violent means of effective revolution that resonates with the soul. To move the subconscious mind to action, a thought must be accepted logically and emotionally. Art is a powerful weapon in the arsenal of evolution, and when needed revolution. Spoken word, music, graphic displays, traditional visual arts such as painting and sculpture, Live arts, street performances, cyberspace memes, and blogs and podcasts. By themselves as individuals we are as piss into the eye of a storm off the leeward rail. Together all humans wanting to evolve the species and revolt against oppression become the storm.

Art is not something one does or produces, it is something we let out no matter what our medium.This is what I saw from the ‘Sanders Youth’. A stream of consciousness that became a storm. This generation understands new media better than traditional norms in my admittedly limited experience with that movement. However getting older is a privilege that will be granted to many of their number. They will only improve with time. Art is essential to the struggle in what passes for my mind.

10. Any final plugs or shout outs?

Yes. We all need to move outside our comfort zones and entertain thoughts we cannot accept, embrace diversity and that means ideology especially. This generation of young activists has access to more information that any previous, and that will keep getting exponential. History can seem boring and irrelevant, but not knowing it’s lessons means they must be repeated. Read. Education is free or low cost, abundant with internet access. Certification is expensive. Be educated even if you can’t or won’t stand the price and hassle of certification.

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